Thermoplastic and fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite structures or parts are used in a wide variety of applications, including in the manufacture of aircraft, spacecraft, rotorcraft, watercraft, automobiles, trucks, and other composite structures. In aircraft construction, thermoplastic and fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite structures or parts are used in increasing quantities to form the fuselage, wings, tail section, and other components. Creating geometrically complex, high performance, three-dimensional thermoplastic composite structures or parts typically requires multiple sets of tooling and molding operations. The fabrication of such tooling and molding is important for the design and the manufacture of thermoplastic composite structures or parts.
Stamp formed thermoplastic composite structures or parts are typically limited to planar or drafted geometry, and the production of tooling or molding for the stamp forming process can be slow and expensive. The typical method to produce tooling or molding for the stamp forming process is CNC (computer numerically controlled) machining of metals. Such CNC machining uses computer programs such as CAD (computer-aided design) or CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) to automatically execute a series of machining operations. However, such CNC machining may be a slow, labor intensive process that may only produce tooling or molding of limited geometric complexity with increased material waste. Moreover, such CNC machining to produce tooling or molding typically has a lead time of several weeks to several months and can become quite expensive, depending on the complexity of the tooling or molding desired. In addition, with such CNC machining, design changes can be expensive and time consuming.
In addition, if trapped or internal geometry is desired for a thermoplastic composite structure or part, secondary tooling is typically required to form a silicone bladder or other removable tooling detail. Such bladder molded types of parts have a limited degree of control as the bladders often require constant pressure and often do not allow for features such as multiple ribs through a cross-section.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method and system for forming thermoplastic composite structures or parts that provide advantages over known methods and systems.